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Christmas holiday road toll stands at 36

The national holiday road toll stands at 36 on the brink of the new year.

The latest death occurred in Tasmania's St Helens area, after a head-on collision between two vehicles at The Gardens left one person dead and two trapped in their car on Monday, taking the state's toll to 3.

NSW's ninth death occurred with a three-car collision on the Pacific Highway on state's north coast around 10am (AEDT) Monday killing the 23-year-old male driver of a northbound Ford Laser.

A 44-year-old man died in hospital after losing his control of his motorbike and hitting a power pole in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra just before 11pm (AEDT) Sunday, marking Victoria's eighth holiday road fatality.

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Queensland recorded its fifth death after a 23-year-old man was struck by a car on a roadway in the Gold Coast town of Labrador at around 10.30pm (AEST) on Sunday.

A seven-year-old girl became South Australia's fifth holiday road death in a quad bike accident on Thistle Island, off Port Lincoln, just before 6pm (CDT) on Sunday.

Western Australia's sixth fatality came as Toyota Land Cruiser left the Albany Highway south of Perth, crashing into a tree and bursting into flames shortly before 11pm (WST) Saturday, killing its driver.

Boxing Day has brought the toll's bloodiest day so far with seven deaths.

The ACT and Northern Territory remain fatality free.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Andrew Crisp said police were concerned at the loss of lives on the roads and the serious injuries suffered, urging people to take care on the roads while celebrating New Year's Eve.

"I just want to throw out the challenge - don't be the last statistic for the 2012, look after yourself on the roads tonight," Assistant Commissioner Crisp told reporters.

* The national road toll period runs from 0001 December 23, 2012, until 2359 January 3, 2013, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.